Golden Black
by favouriteyellowsweater
Summary: It's the year Severus Snape became Headmaster of Hogwarts. Harry Potter is missing. Hogwarts is a very different place. Lynn Davids is the new Arithmancy teacher, and seems over all an unextraordinary teacher. However, Lynn isn't any old staff member. Like the Headmaster, she is a Death Eater. And she is determined to help the Dark Lord win the war. (Severus x OC)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

**hey! so i decided to publish this story. i started writing it a year ago and wasn't sure what i wanted to do with it, but now i think i have a basic idea of where its headed. updates will most likley come weekly/bi-weekly depending on my busy-ness. ****hope you enjoy the first chapter! **

**\- favouriteyellowsweater, xox**

It was the Start of Year Feast at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, just like they had every year. Except this year, it was very, very different.

"This year we have new teachers. Professor Davids will be taking Arithmancy and both Professors Carrow, who will be taking muggle studies and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Begin eating, in silence," said Headmaster Severus Snape in his usual cold, short manner. The unfamiliar young woman with straight, golden blonde hair sitting in Septima's usual spot gave a malicious smirk while all eyes in the hall turned to her.

All the students, even the first years, knew that if they disobeyed Snape, the punishment would be severe, so they began eating in silence. All except Mister Neville Longbottom.

"Bloody traitor doesn't deserve to be Headmaster," he whispered. His peers around him looked at him in surprise. Since when did Neville Longbottom have this kind of courage, or this kind of a death wish? Of course, Snape heard his mutterings, stood from his seat, and stalked to where Longbottom was sitting.

"And, would you mind repeating yourself, Mister Longbottom?" Snape's voice was soft, but the danger Neville was in was obvious because of the venom that laced his words.

Neville stood from the bench he was sitting at and stared the dark man right in the eye. "I said, bloody traitor doesn't deserve to be Headmaster," Neville said, defiance glinting in his eyes and strength in his words.

Snape drew his wand slowly and deliberately, but Neville stayed staring, ready for the punishment he knew he didn't deserve. Students began to look at Longbottom in fear and whispered to each other. When Snape had his wand fully drawn, he flicked it minutely and Neville clamped a hand to his face as if he had been slapped (which he had, magically) all the while still staring the Headmaster in the eye.

"Seventy points from Gryffindor, Longbottom," he paused and spun to face the rest of the hall. "This shall be an example to you all; should you defy or be disrespectful to I or any of the other staff, trust me, Mister Longbottom got off easy. Your punishment will be much, _much _worse." With that, Snape stalked back to his seat at the Great Hall Table.

The rest of dinner was uneventful and silent, though all the student's minds were buzzing with Neville's newfound confidence. Slowly, but faster than previous years, students began filtering out of the Hall and into their common rooms. But one person stayed later than all the Hall's occupants, including the teachers. Lynn Davids, the new Arithmancy teacher, sat in her chair, staring at the enchanted ceiling. Waiting until the very last teacher had left the room, Lynn took hold of the cuff of her long-sleeved robes and rolled it up until it reached her elbow. She then took her wand out of its holster on her hip and pressed it to the seemingly innocent tattoo of a thorny, black rose that adorned her forearm, all the way from her wrist to the crook of her elbow. The tattoo glowed for a moment, and then Lynn disappeared as if into thin air.

It had been three years since the return of Tom Marvolo Riddle, most commonly known as Lord Voldemort. He had slowly gained power, and now held control of the Ministry. His previous followers had either obediently returned under the arm of their leader or run and hid like cowards. At least, cowards were what Lynn thought of them. And fools. The Dark Lord was strong and going to win the war. He looked after his faithful and punished his traitorous. So as Lynn stood in front of Lord Voldemort, she knelt and bowed her head in respect and waited until he allowed her to stand.

"Ah, Lynn, you have come to update me? Stand, my faithful friend," he said, his voice cold enough to send shivers down anyone's spine. As instructed, Lynn stood and raised her head ever so slightly.

"Severus is doing a good job as Headmaster. The whole school is terrified of him; I would be surprised if we had any problem at all with the students," Lynn sneered, "Except for the Longbottom boy. He seems like trouble. But do not worry, my Lord, I will have him straightened out by the holidays." She then smirked, a wicked glint in her eye.

Voldemort smiled, a terrifying, malicious thing. "That's my girl," he traced a finger along her jawline in what he probably thought was a fatherly gesture, but were there any observers, they would have told you how chillingly creepy it was. "You are my most trusted friend, Lynn. I shall reward you for your loyalty. What is it that you wish to have?"

Lynn looked at her feet, sheepish. "There is nothing more I want than to be under your command, my Lord."

Narrowing his eyes at her playfully, Voldemort clasped her wrist gently. "I can see in your eyes there is something you want, Lynn, you cannot lie to me. I raised you, child. There is nothing to hide from me. I ask again; what is it you wish to have?"

Lynn bit her lip, wondering whether to ask so much of the generous Lord who rescued her from the twisted and evil 'Light' side as they inaptly call themselves (in her opinion). "It is nothing, my Lord. You already give me so much; it is foolish of me to ask anything of you." Silence followed her words, and she continued to stare at her shoes. If the man in front of Lynn, should you even call him a man, had not taught her himself, she probably wouldn't have noticed the slight tickle in her mind of him subtly using legilimency on her. As such, she did notice it, but let him see into her mind, embarrassed to ask him what she wished for.

A few moments later, the tickling stopped, and Voldemort withdrew from her mind. He looked at Lynn, an expression of slight confusion on his face.

"You wish to drop the formalities between us," he said, as a half question, but Lynn knew not to answer it. Voldemort nodded slowly, considering it. "Yes. I did say you could ask for anything. You may call me Voldemort. I shall call you my daughter."

Lynn almost cried with glee. The man who had raised her after the Light side had killed her parents, who had taught her to defend herself. Seventeen years she had been under the wing of Lord Voldemort, and in those seventeen years, he had become a father to her. If only she knew that to him, she was just a faithful follower.

After meeting with Voldemort, Lynn went back to her quarters. She was supposed to get to Severus, tell him of the Dark Lord's happiness with his success in terrifying the young witches and wizards of Hogwarts. Dipping her hand into the container of Floo powder next to her fireplace, Lynn bunched up her fist, filling it with powder, and then threw it into the soft flames. "Severus Snape's quarters," she said clearly. The orange glow of the room turned green and Lynn took one step forward, into the tall flames. For a moment, all that she could see was green, but then the flames died down and Lynn stepped out of the fireplace of Severus Snape's quarters.

Immediately, Lynn noticed that it wasn't the Headmaster's quarters. There were no windows, and it smelt of herbs. She realised it must be the Potions Masters rooms. Why Severus did not use the Headmaster's quarters was a mystery to Lynn.

"Ms Davids, what in Merlins name are you doing in my quarters?"

Lynn whipped around to find the source of the voice. Severus was sitting in a black leather chair, in the corner of the room. He had his signature brow-raised expression in place and his fingers were wrapped around a cup of steaming tea.

Neglecting to answer his question, Lynn said; "The Dark Lord wishes to tell you he is happy with how you have conducted the start of term feast. He also says to quiet down the Longbottom child, make sure there are no uprisings from the students."

Placing his mug on the coffee table in front of him, Severus stood and walked over to Lynn. "If that was all you had to say, then why couldn't it have been in a letter, Ms Davids?"

"Because I don't trust letters, Severus." The use of his first name was not overlooked. "They could be written by anyone, impersonating someone, and they are not difficult to intercept. By delivering the information myself, there is less chance of others finding out the message, or of it being fake. Nonetheless, whether you choose to believe me or not depends on how much you trust me, and that I am delivering the correct news."

Severus studied Lynn for a second, thinking. Then finally, he nodded slowly. "I do not doubt the truth in your words, however, when delivering information that the Dark Lord wishes me to know, I would prefer it if you would allow me some knowledge of your appearance in advance."

"Of course you would," said Lynn in a drawl not that different from Severus' own. Noticing his scowl, she sighed. "I will stick my head in the fireplace next time before stepping through. May I leave?"

Sighing, Severus nodded. "Yes, go. And I will see that the Carrows take care of Longbottom should he continue to be a problem."

Without reply, Lynn stepped back over to the fireplace, took a handful of Floo powder, called out for her room and left Severus' quarters.

She arrived back at her own quarters. It was a simple place, the walls painted a light grey, two black leather couches around a glass coffee table, both facing the fireplace. Across the room was the kitchenette, which was tiled in the same shade of grey as the walls were painted. A wooden table stained pale sat a few metres from the kitchenette, with similar wooden chairs surrounding it. There was a door at the front of the room that lead to the painting and corridor on which her room was located, and another door in the opposite direction that lead to her bedroom and bathroom.

Once she entered her room, Lynn brushed off the specks of soot on her from the fireplace and walked over to the door of her bedroom. She entered, walked over to her wooden chest of drawers and opened it, pulling out a pair of tracksuit pants and a t-shirt. Grabbing them, she left for her bathroom and realised how appreciative she was to have a bath. Turning on the tap, and filling it up, Lynn placed her clothes in the ledge beside the bathtub and walked over to the mirror. She inspected her face. Lynn was never one to be vain; although she was aware that she did have some good superficial qualities, she knew to never become too obsessed with them. She had a simple beauty. One of someone who was not stunning or flawless, but enough to receive compliments now and then. Her facial features were not awfully sharp, but nor were they round and soft. Her hair reached her mid waist and was honey blonde, though most of the time it was thrown carelessly into a ponytail, so it was out of the way. There were a few freckles dotted over her face and arms, and her eyes were deep brown. Underneath them were emerging bags, and Lynn made a mental note to try and get more sleep. Looking over, she noticed her bath was almost overflowing, and quickly turned the tap off. The smell of vanilla and jasmine filled the room and she took a deep breath in, soaking in the smell. Lynn then stripped herself of her clothes and stepped into the bath.

The warmth of it soothed her aching muscles. She had been so tense approaching the beginning of school term. She wanted nothing more than to please the Dark Lord. Well, now he would just be Voldemort to her. The thought excited her.

She had known him ever since she was thirteen, ever since he had saved her from her blasphemous parents. Her parents were both muggle-borns, and easily got sucked in to the propaganda of the Light side. Voldemort had seen Lynn and thought she needed to be saved from those awful people. So, he rescued her from them and protected her ever since. He taught her as much as he could, but two years later, he was gone, an infant Harry Potter almost murdering him. Lynn spent years trying to find a way to bring him back.

Eleven years later she managed to lure Quirinus Quirrell into the deeper part of the forest so that Voldemort could latch onto him. A year later, when that plan had failed, she gave the idea to Lucius Malfoy to give his diary to the youngest Weasley. And finally, in Harry Potters fourth year of Hogwarts Lynn, along with help from Barty Crouch Jr, brought Voldemort back from the dead. After his resurrection, Lynn became closer and closer to him, and eventually she looked upon him as a father figure. She respected him immensely, but also felt a connection to him as he had spent two years training her in wand combat, physical combat, and mental strength such as Legilimency. And now, he will refer to her as his daughter! There was nothing she wanted more in the world.

Lynn stepped out of the bath after slowly pulling herself from her deep thoughts, relinquishing the relaxed and blissful feeling it had brought her, and pulled on her clothes. She walked over to the bookcase that lined on of the walls in her bedroom and picked up one of her favourites; The History of the Dark Arts. Sitting in bed she flicked open, and began to read, with her wand safely tucked under her pillow close by. In around an hour, Lynn noticed her eyelids start to droop and put the book on her nightstand. She then pulled her covers over her and closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for her first day of teaching tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

_A woman with pitch black, wavy hair sat comfortably perched on the bed next to her. She woke to see the woman stroking her hair, smiling. _

_"__Oh, Lynnie, you are so beautiful, darling. You know I love you so much, right?"_

_She looked into the woman's warm brown eyes and smiled back. "Yes Mama, I know. I love you too."_

_The woman's eyes turned serious. "There's something very important I have to tell you."_

_She nodded, sitting up in bed. "What is it, Mama?" _

_"__You can't trust him. Remember that."_

_She furrowed her brows, confused. "Can't trust who, Mama?"_

_"__You know who." The woman's eyes suddenly turned red and her hair disappeared. Her pale blue dress was replaced with a black robe. The now changed figure hovered over her bed menacingly and staring up at it in horror, she screamed. _

Lynn sat up in bed, awoken with a start. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with a shaky hand, squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. That exact dream had reoccurred at least once a month ever since Voldemort had returned. Lynn knew it most likely meant nothing, as all dreams did, but it always seemed to leave her with an uneasy feeling. It made no sense either. In it, the woman sitting on her bed was supposedly her mother, however she knew her mother was not a kind woman and was very cruel. That was why she had been saved by Voldemort, to be taken away from people blinded by the idiotic ways of the Light.

Turning over, she looked at the alarm clock on her bedside table. It read 4:30am. Earlier than she would've liked to be awake, but there wasn't much she could do about that now. Tossing her covers off, she grabbed her wand from underneath her pillow, walked over to her chest of drawers and took out her robes for the day. Placing her wand in its holster in her robes, she left her quarters, warded it and left the castle. Sometimes, Lynn thought it was a shame she never got to go to Hogwarts. But then she would remember the amazing chances she was given by Voldemort and how lucky she was to spend so much time with him, learn from the very best. The grounds seemed beautiful, in a haunting kind of way. It was still dark out, but on the horizon line she could see a hint of light and decided to wait for the sunrise. She searched for a peaceful place to sit and watch and decided upon a tree next to the Black Lake. Sitting against the trunk, she stared out on the expansive lake, and took her wand out of her pocket. She began to twirl it in her fingertips, breathing in the cool early morning air.

It was silent for a while, and beautiful. Everything was so still, and unlike the nonstop movement that was Lynn's normal life. She was relishing in the stark contrast of this moment compared to the usual moments Lynn was used to, filled to the brim with some form of bustle. However, the peace and quiet was disturbed by a twig snapping to Lynn's left.

She caught her wand in her fingertips, holding it towards where the sound had come from. There was a slight shake of the leaves near where she had heard it, and though the rational part of her said it was a rabbit, or some creature that lives among the school grounds, Lynn had a feeling it was something else.

"Who's there. Show yourself," she demanded, making sure her voice was authoritative in case it was a teacher or student. When she got no reply, she tried again. "Step out of the bushes, now. I have given you a warning, but I will start shooting hexes if you do not reveal yourself soon."

Lynn prayed she wasn't talking to a flobberworm or whatever creatures wander the forest. But, as she had thought, the figure stepped forward to reveal a Hogwarts uniform. A few moments later, Neville Longbottom was standing in front of the bushes, his wand clutched in his hand and he seemed to be attempting a defiant facial expression.

"Longbottom is it?"

She got a small nod in reply.

"Well then, Mr Longbottom, what are you doing wandering the grounds in the early morning? I'm sure you need sleep to be able to absorb any form of information in your classes," said Lynn, looking him up and down.

"I could ask you the same question, Professor." Longbottom stood up taller and stared defiantly back at his professor.

Lynn narrowed her eyes and took a step towards the boy. "Now, you could, couldn't you, but I don't think you're going to want to, Mr Longbottom. Do you know what you _are _going to want to do however?"

Seemingly refusing to let go of his supposed bravery, Longbottom didn't so much as gulp. "What, Professor?"

"You're going to want to tell me why you are out here, and then maybe, just maybe, with a valid enough reason I will let you go with minimal punishment. Understood?" Lynn asked, staring pointedly at him.

"Okay. Yes, understood," he paused, looked around her and then back at her face. "I'm out here because I like to be. I go to the greenhouses and check on the plants, and then walk around the grounds for a bit. I always have. No one's usually here to witness me."

Lynn sighed. He was so pathetically nature-loving. But she had an idea. "Alright Mr Longbottom, here's what I'm going to do. If I 'forget' that I saw your here outside of curfew and continue to just miss you should I be out at this hour again, then you will relax on your opposition of the Headmaster. It is important that he is respected as much as his predecessor. Hmm?"

Longbottom seemed to think for a while, and just as Lynn was about to haul him to Severus and deal out punishment, he broke from his thoughts. "Okay, Professor. I, uh, accept your deal."

"Took you long enough boy," she said, turning away from him. "Now go, before I change my mind."

With that, the boy disappeared back into the bushes he came from. Lynn rolled her eyes and left the lake. It was almost time to prepare for breakfast, and she had no intention of being late.

When she arrived at the dining hall it was the beginning of breakfast, so only the teachers and a few early bird students, including Longbottom, were present. Lynn was met with the strongest of glares from all the staff, bar Severus and the Carrows. So, news had gotten around that she was a Death Eater. Her eyes flicked over to where Minerva McGonagall was death staring her from behind her plate of eggs. _If looks could kill_, thought Lynn. She walked towards the Head Table as if she noticed nothing and sat at her usual spot next to Severus and Filius Flitwick. Though this time the Charms Professor seemed to be attempting to sit as far away as he could from her while still remaining seated.

Deliberately ignoring the withering glances she was being given, Lynn placed some bacon onto her plate. "How are you this morning, Severus?"

Severus looked up from the bowl of porridge that he was eating in front of him. "I am as well as I can be, Professor Davids," his tone was polite, however the scowl she was given- most likely for interacting with him when he seemed like he would like nothing less- proved otherwise.

Determined to keep going, she turned to Professor McGonagall a seat over from Severus.

"And you Minerva, how is your morning going?"

For a split second, Lynn was sure McGonagall was going to murder her right then and there with the fork she was clutching so tightly in her hand. "I am well," she bit out coldly.

Seemingly satisfied with herself, Lynn resorted to silence and continued to eat the breakfast she had placed on the plate in front of her.

Slowly, students trickled in, none looking very much excited for their first day back. They didn't seem to want to linger too long in the hall, and most hurried in, ate quickly and left within fifteen minutes. After waiting around a while, watching everyone come and go, Lynn left the Hall to prepare for her first lesson at Hogwarts. And of course, she had the seventh years which, lucky her, included one Neville Longbottom.

**A/N aaaaand there's chapter 2. sorry about the slight lateness on it! anyway, the next chapter will most likely be in a week as well, or something close to that. hope you enjoyed!**

**\- favouriteyellowsweater xox**


	3. Chapter 3

The Arithmancy room was different to what she had expected. It seemed smaller and seemed much more similar to an observatory than a classroom. Lynn flicked her wand towards the teacher's desk and a blackboard and chalk appeared in front of it. With another, softer and more curved flick the chalk started to write on the board. When it finished, Lynn smiled, pleased with her handy work. The black board now read in neat, curled handwriting; _Arithmancy, Professor Davids. Chatter not tolerated, hard work expected._

With another swish of her wand the black board moved a few inches to the right so that Lynn could sit delicately on the edge of her desk and survey her new students as they entered. And sure enough, a few minutes later they started to trickle in. She stayed put, her arms crossed, and an expectant glare focused at the doorway to the classroom. Eventually, everyone was seated. Lynn pushed herself off of the desk and took a few striding steps towards the students.

"Good morning class, my name is Professor Davids, as seen on the board. I am your new professor of Arithmancy. We will begin with our lesson now, unless anyone has any questions?" She looked expectantly round at the class. It seemed like no one was going to raise their hand until slowly, a hand rose from the back of the room. "Yes, your name and question?"

"Uh, Hannah Abbott, Professor," said the girl attached to the hand. "I was wondering what the difference between Arithmancy, and Divination is? I mean they seem pretty similar."

Lynn had to refrain from rolling her eyes. "Miss Abbott, I should think that after six years of the subject, you would know the difference between Arithmancy and Divination. I refuse to explain it, as it would be a waste of our lessons time. However, if you still feel the need for clarification, I am available after your final lesson of the day for a maximum of ten minutes. Five points from Hufflepuff."

"That's not fair!" Mister Longbottom stood as he exclaimed this, and pointed at Lynn. "She was asking a question, and you're the teacher it's your job to help us learn things! If she wants to know, you should tell her, taking off points is totally not fair!"

At this point, Lynn did roll her eyes, and sigh. Then she glared at Longbottom and stalked over to his desk. "Mister Longbottom, I will not be told how to do my job by a student. Ten points from Gryffindor." She paused as she returned to her position in front of her desk and turned to the class. "Now, despite students insisting on interrupting our lesson, I do intend to actually teach you all something. As Mister Longbottom so crudely put, it is my job to help you 'learn things'. If no one else has any objections?"

The class stayed silent.

"Good. Now..."

And the class went on without further bumps. When Lynn said she wanted to teach them, she meant it. Even though her position at Hogwarts was solely for her to get information to Voldemort, she genuinely enjoyed the subject of Arithmancy, and found it fascinating when she was younger. Because of this, she did find herself wanting to express her interest in the subject to others and help them understand it.

And that is why she found herself waiting in the Arithmancy room after final class of the day had been dismissed. Lynn waited. And waited. And waited. It had been at least fifteen minutes, and just when she was about to leave the classroom, the doors opened, and a flustered Miss Abbott walked in.

"I'm sorry I'm late Professor, I had Herbology down in the greenhouses, so I had to walk all the way up here," she panted, trying to catch her breath. "It's a long way up, there are actually quite a lot of stairs—"

Lynn held up a hand. "That's enough Miss Abbott. Next time, should there be one, come to me at the end of class to warn me that you will be late. I was just about to leave the classroom. Besides I do not appreciate tardiness."

"Yes, uh, sorry Professor. So, I know it was a stupid question, I just struggle with these subjects and I think learning the difference properly would help."

"Right well, first of all, Arithmancy is much more based on muggle mathematics than Divination. It is more precise and calculating, rather than plainly 'seeing the future'…" Lynn launched into a long explanation into the differences, with Miss Abbot frantically scribbling down notes as she spoke. It was nice, almost, to talk about something she was passionate about to someone who was trying to understand.

After around half an hour, Miss Abbott was spilling 'thank you's to her Professor before gathering her things and leaving the classroom. Not long after, Lynn grabbed her things also and returned to her quarters.

The next two weeks went by without any major hitches. Yes, students would chat in class— or in Longbottom's case yell at her— and so detentions were doled out accordingly. She had, actually, come across Longbottom a handful of times in similar early hours of the morning. Neither parties would show any form of recognition if they were in vicinity of each other, however, so it was hard to tell of he did not see her or was avoiding her. She did not mind, though. It was better actually. Longbottom seemed to calm his rebellious nature ever-so-slightly also. He was still given detentions but mainly for talking and/or yelling in class, nothing too intense like the first day in the Great Hall, for which Lynn was grateful. It was quite a 'nothing' two weeks.

Lynn would, on occasion run into Severus in the halls. He always seemed to give her a strange look when she passed. There was curiosity to his gaze, but if she was not mistaken, a slight undertone of contempt. It was almost as if he was trying to figure her out, examine her like a specimen in a lab. Lynn did not like this feeling and was every so often tempted to stop him where he was and ask him what is was he wanted with her. But she didn't.

Despite this gaze, Lynn felt herself intrigued with him. She knew Voldemort trusted him, and so of course she did too. However, there was an element of… _guardedness _about him. Like he was constantly holding things in, protecting something, holding it close. Lynn did not say anything about it though. She was very aware of her tendency to overanalyse. She did not want to cause a commotion based on her, most likely misplaced, scrutiny. So, she continued on, pretending she noticed nothing.

All in all, Lynn found she very much enjoyed her first two weeks as a member of staff at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was a very pleasant experience, to finally be at Hogwarts and be surrounded by the literal and figurative magic that was talked about all over Europe. She knew this position was nothing but to help Voldemort, to be another source of information besides Severus from within Hogwarts, but she couldn't help but feel as though she was going to have a likeable encounter with this school.

Every so often Lynn would stop herself, however. No. Don't get distracted. Focus on what you are here for. Gathering information. Getting side-tracked is not an option. But, then again, she is supposed to be here for a while, until Voldemort is ready, so what's the harm in enjoying her time here while she can, she might as well, right?

It was late in the afternoon, and Lynn was in her quarters, supposed to be grading the most recent fifth year papers, but was getting very much distracted by a book she had found in the restricted section of the library. The book was a fiction book, and a good one at that, which was quite a rare thing in the Hogwarts library it seemed. Lynn made the mistake of beginning to read it before she started grading papers, and would put it down for a few minutes, grade around three papers, and then her resolve would crumble, and she would fling open the book again. This continued for around two hours, which was double the amount of time those papers should've taken to grade, and she wasn't quite finished yet. The only reason that Lynn looked up from her book, was because she could no longer see the pages very well and noticed that it was almost completely dark outside.

She placed the book in front of her and rummaged around in her robes to find her wand. Once she found it, she flicked it a few times, and all the lights and lamps in the room were on. Lynn then put the wand back in her robes and reached to pick up her book again.

Instead of doing this, however, she recoiled her arm quickly in pain, and turned her wrist over. The rose on her wrist was darkened slightly and burning. Her pain was replaced with joy for a moment. She was being summoned! Lynn was going to see Voldemort. Without wasting a moment, she fished her wand out and flicked it again, this time summoning her robes. Gathering them in her arms, she left her quarters.

Around halfway through the first week, Lynn and Severus had come up with a plan. They would both meet beside the Great Hall entrance should they both be summoned, before going to Voldemort together. If you were the first there, you would wait there for a maximum of five minutes before leaving. No one showing up meant that only one of them was being summoned, or the other was late. And, well, lateness to Voldemort's summoning's is not tolerated.

And so, Lynn found herself waiting just beside the Great Hall, just in case Severus was summoned also. As it reached five minutes, Lynn guessed he was not summoned. Severus was never late, to anything. So, Lynn left, towards the gates of Hogwarts so that she could apparate to wherever it was Voldemort was summoning her from. Once she reached there, she pressed her wand to her tattoo, and felt the stomach-churning pull of apparation.

**A/N hey guys, sorry its waaaaay late, got a little caught up. from now on, updates will most likely be every two (possibly three) weeks, just for the next two months. anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, despite its late-ness**

**\- favouriteyellowsweater xox**


	4. Chapter 4

**WARNING!**

**This chapter contains allusions to sexual assault/rape. If you do not feel comfortable with this, please do not read this chapter. **

When she landed, Lynn looked at her surroundings. It was outside, and a chilled breeze attacked her through the surprisingly unprotective robes. Voldemort stood in front of her, and she soon realised she had been summoned alone.

"My Lynn, have you found anything yet? Anything of interest?"

Lynn shook her head. "No, Voldemort. I apologise, at the moment Hogwarts has been very slow." She felt ashamed, there had to be _something_ happening at Hogwarts, and she just wasn't trying hard enough. Voldemort sensed these thoughts in her head through his legilimency and took a step towards her.

"My dear daughter, I feel your regret for the lack of information you have brought me. However, I will still be forced to punish you. You may be my most trusted Death Eater, however I am not unfair, and all my friend's punishment must be equal." He extended his hand out to her, offering her to take it.

She obliged and laced her hand in his. "I understand, Voldemort." And she felt as though she truly did.

Nodding slowly, Voldemort paused in thoughtfulness. "Although, I have an idea. You will have to be punished, but I know a way that may also reward you for your devotedness to me. Come, we will summon others."

Knowing what this meant, Lynn rolled her sleeve up to reveal her Dark Mark. Voldemort took out his wand and pressed it to it. Moments later, four more Death Eaters were gathered around them. Untangling his fingers from Lynn's, Voldemort surveyed the men.

"Hello my friends. I have a surprise for you four."

There was a slight murmur between the quartet before Voldemort silenced them with a raise of his hand. Lynn was very much interested in what he had chosen to do with her.

"Lynn here has failed to bring me sufficient, if any, information in the past week. Now you know how I feel about incompetence. It is not tolerated. So as punishment, I would like all four of you to have your way with her. Do whatever you like, and my dear," he turned to her. "Though this will bring you pain, it should come with pleasure, as deeds like this do."

Lynn bowed her head. "Thank you, Voldemort, for this opportunity." She was grateful for the chance at pleasure amongst her pain.

Stepping towards her, Voldemort placed a hand on her cheek. "You are most welcome my child. Now, I must leave you five to it. I will see you all at your next summons."

And with that, he disapparated, leaving her alone with the men. They removed their masks, and she saw them to be Rodolphus, Rosier, Dolohov and Rockwood. Whether he knew it or not, Voldemort had summoned four of the most violent of his followers.

Dolohov took a step forward, a menacing and almost feral glint in his eye. "Well, well missy. No dark lord to hide behind anymore."

If it had not been for her complete devotion to Voldemort, Lynn would have willingly defeated all four of them and left, however she was aware this was her punishment, and therefore left her wand in her robes.

The four men circled like vultures and eventually they pounced. They pinned her down and seemingly hungrily tore her clothes off. Trying desperately to ignore the voice in her head saying she did not deserve this, and she should leave _now, _Lynn focused on one of the branches of the tree looming over them. She deserved this and it would be over soon.

Lynn watched as all four men apparated away and left her stark naked on the grassy floor. She quickly found her wand tangled in her robes that lay beside her and gave it a swish, and within a second, she was fully clothed. It was hard to ignore the pain felt between her legs, and from all the bruises they left behind. They were not merciful in any way and Lynn's knees almost buckled when she stood. There was a shame that she felt, but she dismissed it for disappointing Voldemort. Taking in a deep breath she concentrated on getting to her quarters at Hogwarts. There, she could collapse on her bed until her classed tomorrow. As she ignored the slight worry of splinching herself, she apparated to the entrance gates of Hogwarts.

When she looked up, the distance from where she was to the castle seemed a lot longer that it usually did. But, not one to give up easily, Lynn pushed herself forward. As well as the pain in her lower region, her head throbbed. While they were punishing her, her head was banged against the hard wood of the tree next to them multiple times. She reached back and felt sticky matted hair. When she looked at her fingers, she confirmed she was definitely bleeding. But she kept on. All she had to do was make it to her quarters. _All I have to do is make it to my quarters. _She could lie down there, in her bed, and sleep this pain off until tomorrow. All she had to do was make it to her quarters.

The only thing her mind could focus on was the pain. It didn't even feel like she was moving, but slowly she was pushing forward one foot painfully trudging after the other.

After what felt like hours, she made it to the doors to the Great Hall. Now she had to deal with stairs. But Lynn forced herself to go on. All she had to do was make it to her quarters. Every one of her muscles burned in protest of any more movement, but she had to keep going. She refused to have any evidence of her pain on her face just in case she ran into a teacher or student. It was about midnight, so they all would be in their rooms by now, but Lynn didn't want to risk it. She forced her brow to unfurrow, and she kept walking. It was in this moment that she regretted nothing more than requesting a room high up in the castle. At the time, she thought it was a fantastic idea; a nice room with sunlight, and a view of the grounds. Now, she wanted to slap past-her in the face.

But Lynn continued to move forward and forced herself to think about her lessons tomorrow. A distraction, from the pain. Which year did she have first? What houses were they? Her mind ran across the things she was teaching tomorrow, and it worked for a while. Although she was still very aware of the agony she was in, she lost track of how many stairs she was climbing, and sooner or later, she made it to her floor. Now the easy part.

Just a little bit further, and she would have made it to her quarters. She had managed to avoid any staff or students. Until now. The corner she just turned revealed one Neville Longbottom walking down the hall. _Of course it had to be _fucking _Longbottom. _Lynn quickly pushed herself to jog back around the corner she came, hopefully avoiding him, which turned out to be a very big mistake. She managed to get around the corner without him seeing her, but every nerve in her body felt double the pain she had before, moving faster was definitely not a good idea. Involuntarily, she cried out in pain and fell to the floor. Lynn heard Longbottom's footsteps quicken.

"Hello? Who's there? Are you okay?"

Always has to be the hero, doesn't he? Lynn stayed silent, hoping he would move on. She tried to push herself up off the floor but couldn't seem to succeed.

"Hello?" Neville called again, "I know someone's there, are you hurt?"

_Just keep walking boy, _thought Lynn, _Move. On. _

But of course, he didn't. She was desperate now to stand up. It would not be good for him to see her, bleeding and on the floor. However, every time she put weight on her arm, pain shot back up them and it took all she had not to cry out again. They must have broken it. It was now that Longbottom rounded the corner to see his Arithmancy professor sprawled on the floor, face scrunched in pain with blood running down the back of her head, and a multitude of bruises. His mouth dropped in shock and his eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"Merlin, Professor! Are you okay? Professor Davids?" He knelt next to her, concerned. Bloody Gryffindor chivalry.

"I'm fine, Longbottom," snapped Lynn, though it was very clearly not true. "Just move back boy, so I can stand."

He did as he was told, shuffling back a few centimetres.

Taking a deep breath in, Lynn forced herself to push herself back on her feet, desperately trying to ignore the growing pain in her arm. This time she made it to her feet but didn't manage to stay there for long. Her knees buckled and she fell straight back to the ground.

Longbottom gasped. "Professor! Are you sure that you're okay? I think I should get Professor McGonagall; her quarters are just around a few corners, and she's there."

"No! Not McGonagall. I told you, Longbottom, I'm fine. Just move along and get to your common room."

Speaking of which… "Longbottom, why aren't you in you in your common room to begin with. It is much past the curfew. You know there will be punishment for this—"

"I was with Professor McGonagall, that's how I know she's in her quarters, please Professor," he tried not to look at the ugly bruise that was forming on her forehead. "Let me get her, at least so she can get you to the infirmary, you don't look too good."

Lynn sighed. "Mister Longbottom, as I have said, I am fine. I will have a moment to compose myself, and then return to my quarters. There will be no Professor McGonagall, and _definitely_ no infirmary. Now if you don't mind, I am going to—" She was cut off by the dizzy spell that had just taken over her. Putting a hand to her head, she scrunched up her eyes waiting for it to pass. However, it didn't seem to pass at all. Lynn kept getting dizzier and dizzier, and soon she felt her head collide with the cool stone floor. Faintly, she heard Longbottom call her name, but she couldn't respond, didn't have enough energy to. And finally, she let herself succumb to the exhaustion.

**A/N hey guys! im not sure if i'm on time or not with this chapter tbh, but i hope you enjoyed it! like i said last update, chapters will come every two weeks from now on, so see you in a fortnight!**

**\- favouriteyellowsweater xox**


	5. Chapter 5

Neville Longbottom stared in horror as his Arithmancy teacher passed out in front of him. He wasn't so sure why he was insistent on helping Professor Davids, she definitely wasn't the nicest teacher at Hogwarts, but nowhere near Snape's level. And she did have that deal with him about being out before morning curfew so he could check on the plants. It was also distressing to see one of his teacher's so… beaten.

"…Professor?" he asked timidly. "Uh, Professor Davids?"

He got no reply. It was then that Neville decided he was going to McGonagall. He could deal with Professor Davids' anger after he knew she was safe, but now he wanted to help. After quickly making sure she was still breathing, he stood and walked back to Professor McGonagall's painting, and knocked.

In a few moments, the lock on the door was clicked open, and the door revealed Professor McGonagall, very much the same as one would see her while in a class.

"Mister Longbottom," she said, surprised and a little irritated. "What are you doing back here, you should be in your common room by now."

"Uh, sorry to bother you Professor," said Neville, still ever so slightly scared of her after all these years, "but Professor Davids is really not well and she passed out just around the corner. I really think we should get her to the infirmary."

It seemed Neville did not imagine McGonagall's face falling into a scowl the moment Professor Davids was mentioned. "Mister Longbottom," said McGonagall tightly, "I'm sure Professor Davids is able to handle the situation herself, but I appreciate your concern."

Neville was taken aback. A fellow teacher was in need, and Professor McGonagall was refusing to help. He had never seen her talk about another staff member with such contempt. "But Professor, please, she looks hurt, I really don't think she should be left there."

"No, Mister Longbottom," McGonagall was scowling in the direction of the corner. "You should go back to your common room, before you get in trouble." Seeing Neville's determined expression, she sighed. "Listen, Mister Longbottom, it is no secret that Hogwarts is no longer as safe as it once was."

She hesitated. "Professors Carrow are both Death Eaters. And so is Professor Davids. I'm sorry but I do not want to aid those people. Whatever messes they get themselves in, they are going to have to get themselves out."

There were a few moments of silence. Neville was shocked. He knew Professor Davids didn't seem like the nicest teacher, she definitely had some Snape vibes about her, but he would never have suspected her as a Death Eater.

"Oh, uh I had no idea," said Neville. His whole perception of her had changed. But there was still a part of him that wanted to help her. He didn't know why, he knew he probably should hate her now, and he definitely didn't like her all too much anymore, but he didn't seem to hate her. It felt wrong to leave her lying on the floor like that, hurt. So, he pressed on. "But please Professor. What good are we if we leave the injured? I mean I know she's a Death Eater now, but shouldn't we at least try? And what happens if she's still there in the morning when students start to walk around the halls? It wouldn't be good for the students to see her like that. Please, Professor."

McGonagall sighed deeply. Then she stood in thought for a few moments, contemplating it. And she knew that he was right. How could she call herself better than a Death Eater if she left someone who was seemingly badly injured? "Alright. I'll see how badly she is hurt, and then we'll figure out what to do. Now, show me to her."

Neville nodded and brought her just around the corner. McGonagall couldn't help but gasp at the sight of the woman before her. Dried and fresh blood mingled with her hair and the side of her face, she had bruises almost covering her arms and legs, and there was another trail of blood down her legs. Her arm looked swollen and was almost definitely broken.

"Dear Merlin," whispered McGonagall. She was not expecting to see this much damage to her colleague. Now she felt ashamed of her initial refusal to help. Kneeling beside Davids, she took out her wand and waved it in complex circles to perform a diagnostic charm. The results left her ever so slightly heartbroken. It explained the blood on her legs.

McGonagall decided she didn't want to get too many people involved, so she turned to Neville. "Mister Longbottom, I'm going to help Professor Davids in my own chambers. If you wouldn't mind, I would like your help."

"O- Of course Professor, I'll help," said Neville, nodding.

"Thank you." McGonagall then flicked her wand again, and Davids body levitated. She stood, and they walked back towards her chambers, Davids floating behind them. They returned into her chambers.

It was exactly how you would imagine her chambers to be. Very prim and proper, and extremely neat. There was the odd tartan pattern here and there, but most things were in a plain deep green. There was a large black sofa on one side, with a small coffee table in front of it.

McGonagall walked straight over to this coffee table and sofa and carefully laid Davids onto the couch. She then transfigured the coffee table into a cot, not unlike those in the infirmary. Davids was then placed on the now cot, gently. McGonagall the cast the diagnostic spell again to clarify what the injuries were. "Mister Longbottom go into the top left cabinet in the kitchen, you should find a variety of bottles there. Grab the first three that are placed there," said the transfiguration teacher. Then she muttered to herself, "I'm not anywhere near as good as Poppy, but we should be able to make do."

Neville nodded, and quickly went to the kitchen, found the potions and brought them to her. When he returned, McGonagall was already muttering multiple healing spells. "Here, Professor."

McGonagall motioned her him to place them beside her, and he did so. Once finished her incantations, she took the potions and put the first two down Davids' throat. The last one she rubbed on the back of her head. Then, McGonagall sighed, and crossed her arms.

"Well, that is all we can do for now. I will watch over her until she wakes up. Mister Longbottom, you should go back to your common room now."

Neville looked up at McGonagall. "O-okay Professor. She's going to be okay, right?"

McGonagall's lips formed a tight smile. "I think so, Mister Longbottom. Now go, before you get in trouble for being out late."

He nodded and left her quarters. As Neville went to bed that night, his mind stayed on the Professor, and how conflicted he felt. What McGonagall had just told him meant that she wasn't a good person, but he couldn't help but think that that was not who he knew as his Arithmancy teacher. But, he thought, I guess she could be just good at her job, at hiding it. With these conflicting thoughts in his head, Neville fell asleep.

**A/N hey everyone! sorry for the ever so slightly late and kinda short chapter, but i hope you enjoy it anyway! i'll see you all in two weeks with another, longer and on time chapter, i promise!**

**\- favouriteyellowsweater xox**


	6. Chapter 6

**a/n aha ha ha hi... so last year got extremely busy, and im not gonna lie to you, this isn't a complete return. i'm in my second last year of high school rn, and its getting v busy, which might actually mean more updates. this chapter was written in stubborn procrastination of all the other bits of work i have to do, and i have a gut feeling i'll be doing it more often now i have so much to do. sooo.. yay? anyway i am very sorry for leaving you all hanging for over six months, but i'm back for now. lets say expect another update in three weeks? maybe? hope you enjoy this chapter, see you next time!**

Lynn woke on an unfamiliar surface and to many, _many _aches all over her body. In the sleepy state she was in, she noticed how comfortable the place she was lying on was. It was nice, soft, and long enough that her sore legs could lay straight out. It was a good material too, felt like maybe velvet underneath her skin, she wasn't sure, her eyes were still closed.

And then her brain started catching up with her, and she remembered that she definitely shouldn't be on a velvety and cushioned surface, but the stone floor of a hallway in the castle. Her eyes flew open, and she sat up quickly, her heart beating fast. She immediately regretted moving so fast, as her whole body screamed its protests, and she groaned loudly, bringing her hand up to the back of her head, which was pounding painfully. Lynn cursed under her breath and forced herself to stand. She didn't know where she was, and that was very worrying.

The couch was, in fact, velvet, a deep green colour, as was most other things in the room. A tartan cushion sat on the armchair across from her, and there was a bare and neat stone fireplace against the wall. The green, the tartan, it was all very McGonagall, Lynn thought to herself. But she couldn't possibly be in the transfiguration teacher's quarters, it was quite clear to her how much the woman disliked her. The Slytherin common room, perhaps? She'd never actually had the chance to go inside yet, not being a Head of House.

Her legs were shaky under her, and they almost buckled when she took a step forward. Lynn grit her teeth and continued taking steps forward. Voldemort's punishment seemed almost more painful the morning after. Speaking of which, she looked over herself, and noticed someone had patched her up. She had less bruises than the night before, and almost all of her scrapes and scratches were gone. Lynn kept walking, around the back of the couch, and towards the door she could see against the wall.

"Are you quite sure you should be walking, _Professor?" _

Lynn paled. And then cursed.

So, it was McGonagall's quarters. She turned slowly, and saw Minerva standing across the room, her face pinched in a sour and disapproving look.

"Minerva," said Lynn, trying to force a smile onto her face. "Do I have you to thank for not waking up on the stone floors of the castle's hallways?"

McGonagall's face softened, ever so slightly, but not by much. "No, in fact you can take your thanks to Mister Longbottom. He was the one that seemed oddly dedicated to your cause, even after I told him of your… alliances."

Lynn couldn't help but feel a slight pang of disappointment in hearing that Longbottom knew of her status as a Death Eater. He never would trust her now, and she hoped he wouldn't take to hating her. It would make classes much more difficult.

"I was serious about you being up," McGonagall said, looking Lynn up and down. "They were quite substantial injuries that you sustained. "

Any colour left in her face drained. Oh. She must know about _that_. Lynn wanted to collapse inwards or disappear. There was a shame, mixed with disgust, that clenched in her stomach. The actions of the night before was something that she had wanted to keep between herself and Voldemort until the day she died. It seemed McGonagall had noticed this sudden dread.

"I see no purpose in informing the Order of the exact details of the state you were left in last night."

Lynn felt her respect for the Transfiguration teacher grow slightly. She cleared her throat. "Thank you."

McGonagall only nodded her had curtly in response.

"I should go," said Lynn. "I will be fine." And she continued on her way out of the door, with no protests from McGonagall.

Making her way to her own room went without any interruptions from students or faculty, which Lynn was very thankful of, as she knew she must have looked very fragile and unwell. She finally managed to get to her portrait, and stumbled in, hearing it close behind her. The sky outside her window was bright, and she realised she had no idea what time it was, or how long she had been unconscious. These were questions she should have asked McGonagall while she was in her quarters, before she had wasted more time in coming to her own.

Lynn flicked her eyes up to the clock that hung on the wall above the fireplace, and saw it read 7:26am. She let out a sigh of relief that she had not missed any classes, and hadn't missed breakfast either, so there would be no suspicions from students. What she needed, she thought to herself, was a headache potion and a strong coffee. That would hopefully get her through the day. So she went over to her kitchenette cabinets, and opened the one she reserved for potions. Lynn looked in dismay as the headache potion bottle sat there, empty, staring smugly at her. She cursed.

There were two options; one, put up with her headache (and general body ache) and risk looking and acting weak in front of staff and students, or two, find Severus and ask him for one. She really didn't want to, but she knew that number two was the better option. Groaning in frustration, Lynn walked to her fireplace, took some Floo Powder and knelt down (with more difficulty than she would like to admit), calling out for Severus' quarters. Of course there was no guarantee he was there, and if not she decided she would just take it, he wouldn't be there to stop her.

"Severus?" she called out and remembered how much she disliked having her face in the fireplace.

A few seconds of silence later, Lynn saw the form of the school's Headmaster enter his living room.

"What could you possibly want," he drawled, still sarcastic as ever in the hours of the morning, "at seven-thirty in the morning that could not wait until breakfast, Ms Davids?"

Lynn sighed. "I'm going to come through, it's extremely uncomfortable on the floor. One second." A moment later, Lynn stood in Severus' living room. He was staring at her, looking quite impatient.

"Yes?"

"Do you have any headache potions? Or any for aches in general," she asked, cringing internally and hating that she had to ask him for something. "I seem to have run out."

Severus squinted his eyes at her in annoyance, then turned on his heel and towards his kitchenette, and returned a moment later with two bottles. "You were summoned last night I assume?" He held them out for her to take.

Lynn took the first bottle from his hand, downed it quickly, and then swapped it for the second one, doing the same. They tasted awful. "The Dark Lord was not pleased about my lack of information. I didn't have anything to give him."

He only nodded and looked at her as though he was analysing her.

A part of Lynn thought she ought to tell Severus what happened when she arrived back at the castle, and as much as she didn't want to tell him she passed out, she knew he should know about the goings of the school.

"Longbottom found me last night," she said, feeling embarrassment bubble up in her chest. "I- uh, wasn't in the best of states, and he found me sitting on the floor of a corridor. He had been to see Minerva. He knows of my alliance to the Dark Lord."

If he had any kind of reaction to her statement, Severus didn't show it. "You were in your robes?" he asked.

Lynn shook her head. "No, Minerva told him. I, uh," her dignity was telling her to stop talking, _now_, "I ended up blacking out and the two of them helped me. I woke up in her quarters about half an hour ago."

Again, Severus' mask of apathy didn't move, he only nodded thoughtfully.

Clearing her throat, Lynn scratched at her eyebrow. "I should go. Thank you for the potions." Before waiting for his response, she stepped into the fireplace, and ended up back in her own quarters.

She could already feel the potions beginning to work, and began to ready herself for breakfast, and the day ahead.


	7. Chapter 7

**a/n oops so the three weeks was a loottt longer than three weeks. but here is another chapter! im also about halfway through the next chapter so there'll be another one most likely soon-ish (i mean i said that last time and here we are, but i think this time it'll actually be soon!) anyway, love you all, hope you enjoy!**

As she sat in her chair at the end of the Great Hall, Lynn came to the uncomfortable realisation of just how hard and wooden her seat was. Under much more usual circumstances, it would not have bothered her so, but everything that had transpired the night before seemed to amplify the stiffness of it, despite the ache potions she had downed not long ago. Lynn stared at the copious amount breakfast foods that lined the table, and felt bile rise in her throat at the thought of having to eat any of it. This morning it might be best if she did not eat anything. After all, perhaps she did not deserve it, Voldemort had certainly punished her so. Lynn was more than content to leave her plate empty, but felt the uncomfortable tickle of someone else's eyes on her. She looked up the table, and saw McGonagall's eyes firmly planted on her, with a quite unreadable look on her face. Lynn flicked her own eyes back down to the empty plate in front of her, and the nauseating amount of food that sat unceremoniously on dishes.

Forcing air into the furthest corners of her lungs, she grabbed a piece of toast from the stack in front of her, and the butter, then slathered one with the other. As much as she did not want to eat, she knew that she could not show any form of weakness in front of McGonagall, not in general, and definitely not now, after the poor state she last saw her in. There was no room for excessive interference from an Order member, when already it was hard enough to gain information for Voldemort.

Lynn pushed her mind to any other topic except the piece toast she was biting off, desperately trying to ignore the urge to throw it up on her plate right then and there. She thought about her classes, the homework she had to mark for her third years, and the detention she was supposed to oversee that evening involving a mouthy fifth year. A much too long thirty seconds later, the toast had disappeared from her plate, and she quickly gulped some water from her cup to make sure it stayed that way. Soon after, it was almost time for her first class, and she along with the rest of the students and faculty, left the Great Hall.

The rest of the day seemed to go without any troubles, aside from Lynn's painful joints. That was until her last class of the day. It was fourth-year Gryffindor's and Ravenclaw's, a lesson that didn't include much of her own interference; they were in the middle of a project in pairs, and Lynn was extremely grateful she had agreed to let them work on it in the days lesson, another lesson full of standing and talking might have taken the rest out of her. She sat behind her desk most of the time, marking work and lesson planning. Halfway through, she got up and walked around the classroom, listening in on each of the pairs, just making sure they were all doing their work and were on task.

One of the pairs, Dawson and Kirkby, both Ravenclaws (and very distracted Ravenclaws at that) were most definitely not discussing Arithmancy, and once Lynn heard the word 'Death Eater', she listened closer.

"-I don't know though, they all seem pretty terrifying," said Kirkby, biting his thumb nail.

"Yeah," replied Dawson, "Well I know who I'm most afraid of. Beside You-Know-Who himself obviously."

"Who?" Kirkby's eyes widened in interest, and he leaned a bit closer.

"Antonin Dolohov. He got out of Azkaban in the mass break out. Have you seen his wanted posters? He's scary as hell," Dawson said, his voice a whisper.

Dolohov. The word rung in her ears, and his face appeared clear as day in her head. And then so did Lestrange, Rosier, and Rockwood's. She saw the tree, and the branch, the night sky. She felt their arms pinning hers to the ground, roughly and violently, and smelt their sickly body odour, their breath and the way they held their bodies and faces much too close. She felt the pain of tree roots sticking into her back, of her head being hit against the trunk, their nails digging into her skin, her legs being moved out of the way so they could-

"Professor!"

Kirkby and Dawson were looking at her in concern, and she looked around to see the rest of the class staring also. Lynn's hand was gripping the back of Kirkby's chair so hard it was hurting. Her breath was loud and fast in her ears, and so was her heartbeat. She slowly released the chair from her grip, and went to move her hair that had fallen from her ponytail out of her face. As she did she felt her cheeks wet, and with intense humiliation realised she was crying.

"Are you alright, Professor?" asked Dawson, creases on his forehead.

It took her a second to realise she was being spoken to. "Uh- yes, I'm- I'm fine. If you'll excuse me, I need a minute. Continue with your work." Quickly, and without thinking about anything other than her need to get out of there, away from the eyes of people, Lynn all but ran from the room and found her feet routing her to the nearest staff bathroom.

Once the door shut behind her, she sighed heavily, and felt the nausea from breakfast increase tenfold, except this time there was actually substance in her stomach, and that substance demanded to be expelled. Noisily, she threw open a stall door, and practically fell to her knees in front of the toilet. Everything she had eaten today, which admittedly was not all that much, came back out through her mouth. Her stomach muscles convulsed painfully, and even after it was most definitely empty, they continued. She was so preoccupied by throwing up everything she had in her that she didn't hear the bathroom door open, or the click of footsteps on the tiles approach her feeble form. It was only when Severus spoke that she realised he was standing almost directly behind her.

"I wasn't aware abandoning your students in the middle of a lesson was an acceptable teaching practice," he said, his emotionless drawl making her want to hit him if she wasn't very dependent on the porcelain bowl she was hugging.

Attempting to swallow down the nausea, she said, "What do you want, Severus?"

"I walked past your classroom to see it unoccupied and in chaos, all of them talking about you and Death Eaters. If you're going to continue to put yourself in situations where students will figure out your alliances with the Dark Lord, we are going to have a problem. Rioting students is the last thing we need, news about the Carrows is already spreading quickly." While he talked, he continued to stay put, staring down at her from his stoic standing position, not even bothering to attempt to help. "We can't have distractions from the Dark Lord's missions."

"I-," she started, then gagged into the toilet. After swallowing thickly she tried again. "I would never purposefully distract from his wishes, but as you can see this is not quite voluntary."

It seemed that until that moment, Severus had not properly taken in her appearance and position. He scanned her up and down, then cocked his head to the side and reached for something in his pocket. It was a vial, some kind of potion.

"Here," he said, "Take this. It's anti-nausea and should help you get back to containing your students."

Lynn took the vial from his extended arm, and drank it. She muttered a thank you, and almost immediately started to feel the effects. Standing up slowly, she straightened out her robes and was thankful that it seemed no vomit got on her clothes or in her hair. Severus started to leave, but then paused at the door.

"Is this," he gestured to her still slightly dishevelled appearance. "Something I need be concerned about?"

She shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. Nothing to worry about."

He seemed satisfied with this answer and left the bathroom, the door swinging shut behind him. Lynn turned to the bathroom mirror, and saw an exhausted and dishevelled woman staring back at her. She walked over to the sink, and braced herself on it, staring at her own face. Her cheeks looked hollower, her pallor was much paler than usual, and the bags under her eyes were very prominent. She leaned closer to the mirror, inspecting her eyes. They too, looked slightly unfamiliar in shape, and she could swear one of her eyes had flecks of... blue.

"Shit," she swore, and fumbled to get her wand out of her pocket.

In all the mess of that evening and her exhaustion today, she'd let her glamour slip. Now, if that happened, it would end in disaster.


	8. Chapter 8

Quickly, Lynn raised her wand and closed her eyes, then muttered a few incantations, and sure enough once she opened them again, she looked much more like herself. Or rather, this version of herself. Her cheeks had filled out a tad, there was a tanner colour to her complexion and after close inspection, her eyes were back to their usual brown.

Ever since she could remember, which was around the age of thirteen, Lynn had worn a constant glamour. Voldemort had asked her to, it was to protect her he had said. Her actual features wore a very strong resemblance to her mud-blood parents, ones that were very well known within the circle of Death Eaters. He did not want her to be endangered or treated differently because of her parents, he had told her, so she was not to ever lower the glamour, not even when she was alone. You never know who can be watching, Voldemort said, and this way you can avoid those from the Light who knew your parents, ones who might want to turn you. It touched her deeply, that he cared as much about her to be worried about her wellbeing to such an extent, so of course she obeyed. If Voldemort wanted this for her, to never lower her glamour, she would do so, to please him and thank him for all that he had done for her.

Sometimes she grew curious of her actual appearance and would search her memory for a snippet of it, maybe catching herself in the mirror before the glamour was raised, or before Voldemort had saved her, but she could never find any. Once or twice she had stood in front of the mirror, staring at those brown eyes, and considered lowering it, just for a second, just so she knew. But she never did. It would be betraying Voldemort, and she could not bring herself to do that.

Lynn tightened her ponytail, tucking loose strands of hair into it, and with a deep breath left the bathroom to return to her students.

Once she opened the door, Lynn was not surprised in the slightest to see the class in a mess. Students were sitting on desks, talking to each other, a large group in the corner were whispering no doubt about the sudden and swift departure of their teacher. Lynn cleared her throat to gain their attention back. Heads swivelled round to where she was standing in the doorway.

"I can assure you all," she said, walking back towards her desk, "I am fine, and I apologise for my leaving. It was just a moment of nausea. Now, I am very sure that your groups were not that large," she gestured to the herd of half the class in the corner of the room, "so if you wouldn't mind I'd like to get back on to your assignment. Or, if you are finished, I can just collect them now?"

The group rushed back to their seats into the pairs and kept their eyes on the desks in front of them.

"Good. Continue in quiet tones, no one can possibly concentrate in a noisy classroom."

That evening, sitting at her spot yet again with more high-piled plates of food in front of her Lynn felt the queasiness roll around in her stomach for the umpteenth time that day. A bowl of potatoes stacked high looked about the absolute last thing she wanted to be staring at, but sure enough, McGonagall's gaze flicked up and back to her. She stabbed a few potatoes onto her fork, then plopped them right on her plate, scowling at the offensive food. Extremely slowly, Lynn sliced them into small pieces, and one by one ate them. By the end of dinner, she felt as though she might throw up for the second time, and spent no time delaying once the Hall began emptying.

Lynn closed the door to her portrait once she got inside and lay down on her couch, feeling all her joints ease painfully as she finally let them rest. That morning felt like a lifetime ago, and despite the fact that she had at least an hour's worth of work still to mark, Lynn let her heavy eyelids close, and fell into a restless sleep.

_The room was made of stone. It was cold, too cold for her light clothing, and a shiver ran down her back. She slowly sat up from her lying down position on the floor, and the hard stone she had been laying on made her spine ache as she did so. She looked around for a window or a door and spotted one in the far end of the room. It was large and wooden, and bolted shut. Even though she would have liked very much to stay put, to lie back down on the floor and ignore this unfriendly room, she knew they were on the other side of that door, somewhere. They were out there, and she was in here and she had to find them, to see them and to hug them._

_On dangerously shaky legs, she stood and hobbled over to the door. Her hand closed around its knob; it was worth a try to twist right? But before she could try, a scream pierced her ears. A scream she recognised, a scream that struck fear into her bones and made the aches in them worse. And then another scream. And another. She sobbed, and tried desperately to twist the knob, but it stubbornly stayed closed. Her fist slammed against the door, and then she rammed her whole shoulder into it_

_"Let me out! Please! Don't hurt them!" she cried, "Let me out! Let me out! Stop! Please, please let me out! I want to see them!"_

_The thuds and her screams echoed around the very empty room, bouncing against the cobblestone walls, and she heard nothing in reply. Her hand still clasped around the doorknob, she slid down onto the floor, hitting the door with the palm of her hand. _

_"Please," she whispered. "I can't lose them."_

With a dull thump, Lynn fell off her couch and onto the floor. She could almost taste her heartbeat it was so high up in her throat, and her mouth was extremely dry. Staggering to her feet, she made her way to the kitchenette to grab a drink of water. As she gulped down the water, Lynn thought of her dream. It was oddly vivid, unlike most of her others, almost like a memory, though that was quite impossible. She sighed and placed the cup down on the bench, then rubbed her eyes. Looking over at the clock on her wall she saw it read 5:31am. The marking she ignored last night popped into her head, and so Lynn flicked on the kettle for some coffee and sat back down in front of the large pile of essays she had to mark.

The next time she checked the clock, all the work was marked, and it was much closer to an acceptable time to be awake. She took her half empty third cup of coffee with her to the Great Hall and tried to prepare herself for breakfast. As she turned the corner to enter the foyer in front of the Hall, she ran into a face full of black robes and greasy hair.

"Oh, Severus, I'm sorry," she said, stumbling back slightly.

He looked her up and down. "Ms Davids."

Lynn watched him as he turned his back to her and made his way into the Great Hall, and she soon followed behind him.

As she sat down, she stared at her newly gained nemesis; food. This morning there were piles of bread rolls, a vat of scrambled eggs, alongside a whole host of other breakfast foods.

Yet again, Lynn forced air into the furthest corners of her chest in an attempt to chase away the nausea, then put two bread rolls on her plate, as well as a small scoop of eggs. Hesitantly taking her knife and fork, Lynn began piling a bit of eggs onto her utensils, then lifted it to her mouth and forced herself to take a bite. As she did so, she listened to everyone's conversations around her.

"-I'm sure they'll be fine," said Sprout. "It hasn't been too long—"

"-kept him there, all evening!" Amycus cackled to his sister, "Little bugger didn't know what hit him—"

"-yes, in the middle of London," Flitwick was saying. "Two of them. I'm quite sure one was Rosier."

With much too much difficulty, Lynn swallowed the bite of egg. But as soon as she had done so, it threatened to come right back up, and this threat was definitely not empty. She pushed her chair back and stood, many eyes of staff flicking up to her.

"Excuse me," she muttered, and strode out of the Great Hall.

Unfortunately, the closest bathroom was much too far away, so Lynn ran for outside, knowing that throwing up onto the grass was much better than in the middle of the hallway.

It seemed she had made it just in time, as it was not long after she made it out of the castle that those eggs ended up on the ground. And again, her stomach muscles continued to convulse long after she was only retching, and her entire body shook.

Lynn sat down on the grass, away from the vomit, and hugged her arms around herself, willing the convulsions to stop, and for her heart to stop thrumming a million beats a minute.

"I thought you said this wasn't going to be a problem."

Quickly, Lynn raised her wand and closed her eyes, then muttered a few incantations, and sure enough once she opened them again, she looked much more like herself. Or rather, this version of herself. Her cheeks had filled out a tad, there was a tanner colour to her complexion and after close inspection, her eyes were back to their usual brown.

Ever since she could remember, which was around the age of thirteen, Lynn had worn a constant glamour. Voldemort had asked her to, it was to protect her he had said. Her actual features wore a very strong resemblance to her mud-blood parents, ones that were very well known within the circle of Death Eaters. He did not want her to be endangered or treated differently because of her parents, he had told her, so she was not to ever lower the glamour, not even when she was alone. You never know who can be watching, Voldemort said, and this way you can avoid those from the Light who knew your parents, ones who might want to turn you. It touched her deeply, that he cared as much about her to be worried about her wellbeing to such an extent, so of course she obeyed. If Voldemort wanted this for her, to never lower her glamour, she would do so, to please him and thank him for all that he had done for her.

Sometimes she grew curious of her actual appearance and would search her memory for a snippet of it, maybe catching herself in the mirror before the glamour was raised, or before Voldemort had saved her, but she could never find any. Once or twice she had stood in front of the mirror, staring at those brown eyes, and considered lowering it, just for a second, just so she knew. But she never did. It would be betraying Voldemort, and she could not bring herself to do that.

Lynn tightened her ponytail, tucking loose strands of hair into it, and with a deep breath left the bathroom to return to her students.

Once she opened the door, Lynn was not surprised in the slightest to see the class in a mess. Students were sitting on desks, talking to each other, a large group in the corner were whispering no doubt about the sudden and swift departure of their teacher. Lynn cleared her throat to gain their attention back. Heads swivelled round to where she was standing in the doorway.

"I can assure you all," she said, walking back towards her desk, "I am fine, and I apologise for my leaving. It was just a moment of nausea. Now, I am very sure that your groups were not that large," she gestured to the herd of half the class in the corner of the room, "so if you wouldn't mind I'd like to get back on to your assignment. Or, if you are finished, I can just collect them now?"

The group rushed back to their seats into the pairs and kept their eyes on the desks in front of them.

"Good. Continue in quiet tones, no one can possibly concentrate in a noisy classroom."

That evening, sitting at her spot yet again with more high-piled plates of food in front of her Lynn felt the queasiness roll around in her stomach for the umpteenth time that day. A bowl of potatoes stacked high looked about the absolute last thing she wanted to be staring at, but sure enough, McGonagall's gaze flicked up and back to her. She stabbed a few potatoes onto her fork, then plopped them right on her plate, scowling at the offensive food. Extremely slowly, Lynn sliced them into small pieces, and one by one ate them. By the end of dinner, she felt as though she might throw up for the second time, and spent no time delaying once the Hall began emptying.

Lynn closed the door to her portrait once she got inside and lay down on her couch, feeling all her joints ease painfully as she finally let them rest. That morning felt like a lifetime ago, and despite the fact that she had at least an hour's worth of work still to mark, Lynn let her heavy eyelids close, and fell into a restless sleep.

The room was made of stone. It was cold, too cold for her light clothing, and a shiver ran down her back. She slowly sat up from her lying down position on the floor, and the hard stone she had been laying on made her spine ache as she did so. She looked around for a window or a door and spotted one in the far end of the room. It was large and wooden, and bolted shut. Even though she would have liked very much to stay put, to lie back down on the floor and ignore this unfriendly room, she knew they were on the other side of that door, somewhere. They were out there, and she was in here and she had to find them, to see them and to hug them.

On dangerously shaky legs, she stood and hobbled over to the door. Her hand closed around its knob; it was worth a try to twist right? But before she could try, a scream pierced her ears. A scream she recognised, a scream that struck fear into her bones and made the aches in them worse. And then another scream. And another. She sobbed, and tried desperately to twist the knob, but it stubbornly stayed closed. Her fist slammed against the door, and then she rammed her whole shoulder into it

"Let me out! Please! Don't hurt them!" she cried, "Let me out! Let me out! Stop! Please, please let me out! I want to see them!"

The thuds and her screams echoed around the very empty room, bouncing against the cobblestone walls, and she heard nothing in reply. Her hand still clasped around the doorknob, she slid down onto the floor, hitting the door with the palm of her hand.

"Please," she whispered. "I can't lose them."

With a dull thump, Lynn fell off her couch and onto the floor. She could almost taste her heartbeat it was so high up in her throat, and her mouth was extremely dry. Staggering to her feet, she made her way to the kitchenette to grab a drink of water. As she gulped down the water, Lynn thought of her dream. It was oddly vivid, unlike most of her others, almost like a memory, though that was quite impossible. She sighed and placed the cup down on the bench, then rubbed her eyes. Looking over at the clock on her wall she saw it read 5:31am. The marking she ignored last night popped into her head, and so Lynn flicked on the kettle for some coffee and sat back down in front of the large pile of essays she had to mark.

The next time she checked the clock, all the work was marked, and it was much closer to an acceptable time to be awake. She took her half empty third cup of coffee with her to the Great Hall and tried to prepare herself for breakfast. As she turned the corner to enter the foyer in front of the Hall, she ran into a face full of black robes and greasy hair.

"Oh, Severus, I'm sorry," she said, stumbling back slightly.

He looked her up and down. "Ms Davids."

Lynn watched him as he turned his back to her and made his way into the Great Hall, and she soon followed behind him.

As she sat down, she stared at her newly gained nemesis; food. This morning there were piles of bread rolls, a vat of scrambled eggs, alongside a whole host of other breakfast foods.

Yet again, Lynn forced air into the furthest corners of her chest in an attempt to chase away the nausea, then put two bread rolls on her plate, as well as a small scoop of eggs. Hesitantly taking her knife and fork, Lynn began piling a bit of eggs onto her utensils, then lifted it to her mouth and forced herself to take a bite. As she did so, she listened to everyone's conversations around her.

"-I'm sure they'll be fine," said Sprout. "It hasn't been too long—"

"-kept him there, all evening!" Amycus cackled to his sister, "Little bugger didn't know what hit him—"

"-yes, in the middle of London," Flitwick was saying. "Two of them. I'm quite sure one was Rosier."

With much too much difficulty, Lynn swallowed the bite of egg. But as soon as she had done so, it threatened to come right back up, and this threat was definitely not empty. She pushed her chair back and stood, many eyes of staff flicking up to her.

"Excuse me," she muttered, and strode out of the Great Hall.

Unfortunately, the closest bathroom was much too far away, so Lynn ran for outside, knowing that throwing up onto the grass was much better than in the middle of the hallway.

It seemed she had made it just in time, as it was not long after she made it out of the castle that those eggs ended up on the ground. And again, her stomach muscles continued to convulse long after she was only retching, and her entire body shook.

Lynn sat down on the grass, away from the vomit, and hugged her arms around herself, willing the convulsions to stop, and for her heart to stop thrumming a million beats a minute.

"I thought you said this wasn't going to be a problem."

**a/n another chapter! im hoping that from now on updates will come every two/three weeks or something along those lines (at the very least more regular than i have been) hope you enjoyed and see u all next chapter! xxx**


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